Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas’s life.

Anna Dressed in Blood is YA meet Amityville Horror. It was creepy and ominous, but also funny. I didn’t find it incredibly scary, just kind of spooky – well ok, a lot spooky. I did love it though, I absolutely did!

Firstly, it was refreshing to have a male protagonist. I wish there were more books as such. Theseus Cassio (Cas) is our main character in this novel and he’s awesome! He has a great sense of humour and he’s such a sweetheart. I adored his character. He’s had a tough life being a ghost hunter, but he makes light of his situations. He’s also great at interacting with others. Unlike your stereotypical egocentric teenage boy.

Cas receives information regarding Anna, a ghost who’s been murdering anyone who enters her house. All 27 people of them… so far. Subsequently, they pack up and move to her home town where Cas plans on stopping her. I loved the Anna story, it was typical but not cliché. I also loved how the author went beyond the usual YA and made it more graphic; more horrific. It really gives you the creeps!

I love my horror, this was 100% a book for me, and the author did a great job. Kendare knows how to tell a story, and tell it well. I didn’t think it was over the top, but I could still see myself getting nightmares from this story. She gives us enough details to make us experience it – which considerably adds to the creep factor. There were a few minor traits that bothered me though. Mostly, it’s the reaction of the characters that were often unconvincing: Anna, who is scary as heck, attacks and almost kills Carmel, and all she says is “My god, she’s awful”.. yeah.. a little.

“You forgot about the bad part. You know, the part where we have to get Anna inside the circle and throw chicken feet at her.”

Another noteworthy aspect in this novel is the humor that is mixed in with the horror. Cas is funny and witty even in the worst situations. He knows his stuff, but he also sounds his age. This makes it all very easy to get into the story.

Ultimately, this is pure horror it’s its finest form. If this wasn’t enough to convince you to read it, just look at that cover and title. What’s not to love?

Beatrice “Tris” Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth’s dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth’s young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

MacKayla Lane’s ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland’s shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh-a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V’lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.

One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure These are books that have been adored by many readers, but unfortunately not by me. They would be better loved on another one’s shelf. So I have decided to do a giveaway. One winner will have a choice of 1 book from this list:

Rules:Open to residents of Canada and US.Must be a GFC followerLeave a comment with your name and email address

+1 if you follow me on Twitter @Giselleco+1 if you follow me on Goodreads+1 if you tweet about my giveaway (you can do this daily) +3 if you add a link to my giveaway on your blog (post or button)Leave me the links and…

The Tirteenth TaleDiane SetterfieldFirst published September 10th, 2006

Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author’s tale of Gothic strangeness—featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming,…

Darkfever (Fever #1)Karen Marie Moning First published October 31st, 2006

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she…

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”

I enjoy a lot of genres but I do have a primary and that would be YA. I would not be able to give up reading *gasp*. So I would pick up Urban Fantasy (Or PNR they’re pretty similar). I love paranormal books with lots of action and excitement so either of those usually do the trick. I’m just finishing the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning (on book #5) and I could see myself being able to live without YA if Barrons would take its place!

I’m very excited to open my blog for business! I’ve been thinking about blogging for a while now but I didn’t have any ideas or the time to put it all together. So since I have a few books reviews piling up, I figured it was time.

So welcome to my blog and I hope you enjoy my reviews. I don’t have any specific genres, though you will see a lot of YA novels. I also enjoy adult fiction so you will see a little bit of everything. I will start posting reviews today. I have a lot of them piled up so I will start importing them on my blog for you all to enjoy immensely! 😉

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Giselle

Giselle is a wife and mother who lives on books and coffee - what else is there?
She's known to be sarcastic and rarely serious. She loves reading books, blogging
about books, chatting about books, and smelling books. Although YA is her current
favorite she has a wide variety of genres that she enjoys. She likes her characters
bad-ass, her plots full of action and her fair share of gore - though she will
indulge in a chick-lit here and there. In short, she'll read anything. She's
also the mind behind Xpresso Book Tours.

Rashika

Rashika is a mysterious creature who likes to hide in the shadows
and plan horrifying things. She also happens to have a huge sweet
tooth so she will lure you over to the dark side with baked goodies
and good book recommendations.

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